KVR Audio

Bubbamusic · Post by **Bubbamusic** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:17 am

George Duke

I like the old stuff he did with Stanley. The Clark-Duke Project?

K-Bee · Post by **K-Bee** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:26 am

Big Tick wrote:Can't believe no one mentioned George Duke yet ?

I'm a completist! Think I have close to 30 albums by that guy!

That said, the concept of synth funk was mostly brought on by the big 70s funk bands stripping down and ditching their horn sections in favor of synths. Groups like Cameo and Atlantic Starr went from 9 to 3-4 members and Larry Blackmon became a great exponent of the typical synth funk productions for both his own group and as producer for the likes of Bobby Brown, Cashflow & Barbara Mitchell, just to name a few.
Other groups of the time include Starpoint, Midnight Star, Con Funk Shun (another stripped down act) and more obscure groups like Switch, Prime Time (both on Lonnie Simmons "Total Experience label that also housed Gap Band) and Klique.

Bear in mind that synth funk was very much producer's brainchild. David Frank (of The System fame) was a keyboard wiz, sound designer and great producer all rolled into one) The System pretty much revitalized the commercial R&B scene at the time. Another producer worth mentioning is the former Miles Davis percussion player James Mtume. He started out working with Reggie Lucas in the disco funk era around 1980 but invented his "sophisti-funk" style when starting his own band with vocalist Tawatha Agee. Their 3rd album Juicy Fruit is a must have for synth-funk fans! Same goes for 1984's "You Me & He" and"Theater Of The Mind" from '86 (never released on cd by the way)

Producers "made" this sound: look for people like Leroy Burgess, Reggie & Vincent Calloway, Kae Williams, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (before J. Jackson), Michael B. Sutton, Hubert Eaves III, Narada Michael Walden etc....they more or less all dealt with the sound. Check the many compilations available at Vinyl Masterpiece too - they're loaded with hard to find 12" versions of obscure cuts.
http://www.vinyl-masterpiece.com/
They have some nice reissues to from the likes of Howard Johnson, Colonel Abrams, Active Force, Dazz Band ect.

It's hard getting this sound right when trying to emulate it today. Back then people used to both program and play. Usually it's all programming these days ultimately taking out the fun and funk out of synth-funk

Soloing was a big part of this kind of music and requires both playing skills as well as complete control of the pitch bender and mod wheel - that makes all the difference, and you just cant program that!

I've ventured into this style myself a few times. Best result so far is the track "Boogie Alert"
http://soundcloud.com/kbeesmusic/k-bee- ... improved-v

Interesting thread! But once I start writing about this I just can't stop!!

hibidy · Post by **hibidy** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:28 am

just an in so tomorrow I can listen to all the great links (going to bed early tonight. I agree with zero though, it's hard to beat prince.

Bubbamusic · Post by **Bubbamusic** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:56 am

OK, listen to this one fellas. I stole all kinds of licks when I did this one. See if you hear any Funkadelik in this one....

http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/378027

mcnoone · Post by **mcnoone** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 10:42 am

K-Bee wrote: I've ventured into this style myself a few times. Best result so far is the track "Boogie Alert"
http://soundcloud.com/kbeesmusic/k-bee- ... improved-v

Excellent.
I've been a follower for a while now.
Great stuff.
What synth is that bass?

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:11 pm

K-Bee, thanks for the excellent and informative post.
I'm baby sitting just now and had the time to go over a few of the bands you mentioned on You Tube. There's lots of stuff to go through.

I like the term you used: 'Stripped' Funk. However, most of the bands so far, are not really it,ie: not stripped (enough) for me. Most are what I'd call 80s Pop-Funk with too much sugar coating*. Thanks to Big Tick, I got reminded of George Duke, and, here is an example of what I'd call 'Stripped' Funk. I mean, this is EXACTLY what I was looking for, just spot on, can't get more to the point. It's the epicentre of tight synth funk. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you 'Funny Funk' (nothing funny about this Funk, I tell ya!

):

This is the shit! Acoustic drums (playing proper funk rhythm and not 4/4 disco), acidic synth funk bass, electric piano, wha wha synth solo, wha clav...yeah! It's restrained, in that, in doesn't go too much into jazz workouts. No vocals...just love it. Mr. Duke, how could I have forgotten about you (perhaps because you made your share of sugar coated funk in your time,

).

I need to find more stuff like this. 1974 seems to be the year, or there abouts.

*Disclaimer: when I say sugar coated, I don't mean it in a derogatory way. I like those tracks as well. But I LOOOVVE what you hear in that link above.

Sometimes we need to wash away all the studio reverb, 4/4 claps, party vocals (pretty much all of Parliament) and reveal the true synth grit and sweat.

Also, tracks like that depress me (in a good way, is that even possible?) in that, I can not play like that!

Whereas, I could do an imitation of most of the 80s Boogie-Funk tracks, either play or program, or both. But to do a full 3 min of Hancock/Duke style synth solos, clav chords, is a no no.
(that's what you get when instead of completing piano lessons, you rather end up tweaking the synth, a Korg miniKorg 700 in my case ).

Another difference is, when I listen to most P-Funk and 80s Boogie, my head bops in a cool rhythm, up and down, happy and all, I might even want to tap my foot, but when I listen to that Funny Funk track my whole body wriggles like it was on acid, I get spasmic shakes of cosmic proportions. I become like a puppet controlled by every synth riff. He bends that note, my spine gets bent in two, he plucks that clav, my jaw gets pulled down...that sort of state...

( no I don't smoke).

robogone · Post by **robogone** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:32 pm

Parliament. Hands down.

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 4:24 pm

Duke party Funk (that bass!

first, P-Funk stylee, then Deep Sub stylee

) :

and one more time,

Duke 'stripped' synth Funk:

Yep. Between the two, I'm home.

K-Bee · Post by **K-Bee** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 4:50 pm

himalaya wrote:I like the term you used: 'Stripped' Funk.

I wasn't talking about music itself. It was stripping the amount of band members I was referring to

However, you could easily call the music stripped-down funk too since the real instruments was replaced by synths

As for George Duke, unfortunately my favorite funk workout by him "Plug" from the 1979 "Look To The Rainbow" set isn't on youtube. Do check this other cut out though from "Master Of The Game", 1978 - it's part of a funk suite on the b-side on the LP.

Another great funky track is this
by the brilliand bass player Christian Mcbride.

Herbie's "Just Around the Corner" is up there with the best of them too:

Ooops, we're getting away from synth funk here

Here's an unlikely contender
From one of my favorite 90s synth wizards Chuckii Booker. Doesn't sound like much else due to him pretty much programming everything himself. This is more of a new jack swing type sound of course but essential nevertheless.

mcnoone wrote:Great stuff.
What synth is that bass?

I layered a Mini Moog'ish type bass patch from my Kurzweil with a similar sound from one of those polish vst's (can't remember which one, sorry) and added a bit of chorus.

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 5:08 pm

K-Bee wrote:
himalaya wrote:I like the term you used: 'Stripped' Funk.
I wasn't talking about music itself. It was stripping the amount of band members I was referring to However, you could easily call the music stripped-down funk too since the real instruments was replaced by synths

Yes, I meant 'stripped' as in stripping the amount of band members. But it also applies nicely to stripping the 'P-Funkiness' and 'Booginess', to leave the bare bones: a drum kit, a dominant synth part, a Rhodes/Clavichord. Just that.
The problem with line ups like that, they usually veer off into Jazz territory too much. Or you get really tight acoustic sets only with guitars, brass, but no synths.

BTW, as you know from our previous meetings, I like your stuff a lot.

I like all the Funk styles mentioned in this thread, it's just that at the moment, I'm hungry for stuff like Chameleon and Funny Funk... there must be more !

hibidy · Post by **hibidy** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 5:15 pm

I take it back, mr duke is teh funkiest!

K-Bee · Post by **K-Bee** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 5:44 pm

himalaya wrote:The problem with line ups like that, they usually veer off into Jazz territory too much

Exactly! That's why I love it!

I'd say "chameleon" does that too btw. After all, it's Herbie

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:12 pm

So what do you think of that 'Funny Funk' track? (George, what were you thinking naming your track like that!). To me it ticks all the right boxes, the main one, it stays just the right side of Jazz ( ie there isn't that much of it

).

hibidy · Post by **hibidy** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:15 pm

himalaya wrote:So what do you think of that 'Funny Funk' track? (

hibidy wrote:I take it back, mr duke is teh funkiest!

Viktor [TUC] · Post by **Viktor [TUC]** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:30 pm

himalaya wrote:Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you 'Funny Funk' (nothing funny about this Funk, I tell ya! ):

This is the shit! Acoustic drums (playing proper funk rhythm and not 4/4 disco), acidic synth funk bass, electric piano, wha wha synth solo, wha clav...yeah!

Man, you just hit the nail on the head!!!
This has been on my mp3 player for the past 6 months, and I get the same spasmic shakes you just described.
And I coulnd't agree more with you, THIS is exactly what I want. Despite my love for all early funk, some disco stuff, 80s electro-boogie (or whatever you call it), horn sections and bass that's been slapped to death, this very track is the very definition of what I need more of.

Cool topic btw, I just saw it for the first time, will read the rest of it later.

Cheers,

The Coktor

Your fav (synth) funk bands/artists/tracks